1986 Map of Well Valley

About this map

Well Valley and its surrounding ranchlands represent the remote agricultural character of the Nebraska Sandhills in the mid-1980s. This survey, straddling the Grant County and Garden County line, illustrates a landscape defined by expansive depressions and localized valleys rather than traditional town centers. These low-lying areas, including Dwire Valley, Cochran Valley, and Green Valley, provided essential grazing and water resources in an otherwise arid environment. The map documents several established ranching operations such as the Sutton Buggy Pole Ranch, Hust Ranch, and Smith Ranch. These labels offer a detailed look at land ownership and the spatial distribution of homesteads in this isolated region during the late twentieth century, which is valuable for genealogical research into these specific Nebraska ranching families.